YouTube AI Video Edits Spark Creator Backlash
Creators Notice Unsettling AI Edits
Something was off with Rick Beato’s face. "I was like 'man, my hair looks strange'," the popular music YouTuber recalls. "And the closer I looked it almost seemed like I was wearing makeup." With over five million subscribers and nearly 2,000 videos, Beato is intimately familiar with his own content, but a recent post left him questioning his own eyes. "I thought, 'am I just imagining things?'"
He wasn't. It has come to light that YouTube has been secretly using artificial intelligence to alter creators' videos without their knowledge or consent. The changes are subtle: wrinkles in shirts appear more defined, skin looks sharper in some areas and unnaturally smooth in others, and even ears can seem to warp under close inspection. While these tweaks are nearly invisible without a direct comparison, some YouTubers feel the changes give their work an unwelcome, AI-generated feel.
The Backlash Against Unsolicited Enhancements
This issue points to a larger trend where AI increasingly processes our reality before we see it, blurring the lines between what is real and what is algorithmically enhanced.
"The more I looked at it, the more upset I got," says Rhett Shull, another prominent music YouTuber and a friend of Beato's. After discovering the same strange artifacts in his own videos, Shull decided to speak out. He detailed his findings in a video on the subject that has since gained over 500,000 views.
"If I wanted this terrible over-sharpening I would have done it myself," Shull explains. "But the bigger thing is it looks AI-generated. I think that deeply misrepresents me and what I do and my voice on the internet. It could potentially erode the trust I have with my audience in a small way. It just bothers me."
AI's Quiet Edit on Reality
The core of the frustration lies in the lack of transparency and control. For creators who have built their brands on authenticity, having their work algorithmically altered behind the scenes feels like a violation. The subtle, AI-driven modifications raise a critical question that extends beyond YouTube: as artificial intelligence quietly mediates more of our world, what happens to our shared connection with real life?
